The present invention pertains to graphical user interfaces for graphically displaying data. More particularly, the present invention relates to a graphical user interface for accessing and displaying performance history data relating to T1 communication lines.
The ability to display data so that it can be quickly and easily assimilated by a user is an important goal in the design of graphical user interfaces (GUIs). One application in which a GUI may be useful is in telecommunications. For example, communications equipment for transmitting voice or data over long distances may require monitoring by a telecommunications carrier or other interested party. Such equipment may provide a facility to collect performance data, such as error statistics or usage statistics. A GUI may be provided to allow a user to access the performance data. It is desirable, therefore, to provide an improved GUI, which allows data relating to telecommunications lines and other types of data to be displayed graphically in a manner that can be easily assimilated by a user.
The present invention includes a method and apparatus for displaying information on a display device, such that the information is easily perceivable by a user. A line graph that corresponds to a first set of data points is displayed on the display device. A region having a fill effect is also displayed in proximity with the line graph. A boundary of the region is representative of a line graph that corresponds to a second set of data points.
The present invention also includes a method and apparatus for displaying information on a display device at an altered scale. A first graph of a set of data is displayed on the display device at a first scale. A user-positionable indicator, such as a cursor, is also displayed on the display device concurrently with the first graph. A user input associated with the user-positionable indicator is then received. The user input specifies a portion of the first graph. In response to the user input, a second graph is displayed on the display device, representing the specified portion of the first graph at a second scale that is different from the first scale. In particular embodiments, the foregoing operations are performed to generate a zoomed view of the specified portion of the first graph.
Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.